Kingdom Hearts II: After Story
by Digibear
Summary: "...before we left, I told you to not ever change.  And you didn't!"  "Heh, I don't think I agree with you there, Kairi." Just a little take on what happened after Kingdom Hearts II ended, after King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy depart Destiny Islands.


Note: I do not own _Kingdom Hearts II. _

Note 2: This scene happens a little after the ending scene of _Kingdom Hearts II_, after King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy departed Destiny Islands.

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><p>Shores of Change<p>

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><p>Waves washed upon the shores of white sand as the sun dipped into the horizon. Orange sparkles flitted on the ocean, signaling the end of the day. In the sky, the moon silently slipped in sight, along with a couple of brilliant stars.<p>

On a dock by the beach, three boats waited, bouncing lightly on the waves.

Sitting on the sandy shore were three teens, conversing. The two boys just came back from their epic journeys throughout the universe, exploring different worlds and saving them from Evil itself. Now that they were all back together, there was much to talk about.

It was the girl, Kairi, who spoke up first. Peering listlessly across the ocean towards the setting sun, she asked, "So… This is how it ends, huh?"

The two boys looked at her with pairs of piercing blue eyes. Riku nodded, but Sora answered ruefully, "Yeah, I guess so."

Wanting to have his say, Riku joined in, "It feels like we never left."

Kairi and Sora nodded slowly and looked back toward the horizon. The sun blazed a beautiful orange, making the water look porous with orange slits. Suddenly, a little breeze picked up, wafting their hair slightly.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Kairi murmured, "It's good to have you back—both of you."

Immediately, Sora smiled a toothy grin, laughing, "Oh, come on, Kairi, I'm sure you didn't miss us _that _much."

Riku smirked, "Yeah. Sora's not_ too _easy to miss."

Before Sora could retort, Kairi cut in, "No, really, you guys! It's been forever since we've been together like this—just the three of us. My friends at school, they were never as close to me as you guys were. When I came back to the islands, it was like starting a whole new life. It felt… empty."

Both boys turned to each other with that look you make when you knew you did something terribly wrong. It was Sora who turned back to her first. He hung his head low, sighing, "We're sorry, Kairi."

She shook her head and softened her eyes. "No, no! It's okay. The good thing is that you guys are back. Everything's okay now."

Sora and Riku nodded before the latter stood up. Kairi and Sora looked at him and tilted their heads.  
>With a confused face, Sora asked, "Riku…?"<p>

The silver-haired boy turned back. "I'm going to head out. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Sora gave him a big wave while Kairi just said goodbye. They watched him walk away for a bit before looking back at the sun. It was just about to dip into the horizon, wishing the world goodbye. The sky looked like a brilliant, multi-colored blanket with a mix of blues and purples and reds and yellows. The water slowly deepened in color, and the sand slowly turned an ethereal silver shade. In the grains, Kairi traced her finger in a pattern. Sora looked over her shoulder, watching as her finger left trails in the sand. When she was done, she looked back at him with the most beautiful smile on her face. The boy smiled back and looked at the star pattern Kairi made.

"It's really pretty, Kairi."

"Sora?"

He turned back to her and closed his mouth. "Hmm?"

The girl looked up at the stars shining above, shifting her weight on her hands behind her in the sand. She spoke softly, "I'm… really happy."

Sounds of the waves lapping up onto the beach resonated in the background. Sora raised his eyebrows and grinned. "I'm happy, too!"

The redhead smiled lightly to the heavens and shook her head, "No…"

Sora gave her a look and asked, "'No'…?"

Still gazing up at the stars, Kairi whispered, "I mean… I'm glad that… you never did change."

"Huh?"

Kairi put a hand to her mouth and chuckled lightly. She turned to him. "Don't you remember? Right before all of this happened, we were sitting on the dock. We talked about how Riku changed and… other things… But before we left, I told you to not ever change. And you didn't!"

"Heh, I don't think I agree with you there, Kairi."

The girl looked at him with a puzzled look. A slight breeze made its way through the trees, making them sway gently. Kairi asked, "Why not?"

Sora threw his hands behind his head and fell back onto the sand. Now he looked up at the skies. Turning to his friend, he threw her another lopsided grin, "Think about it! I'm stronger, faster, and I can even pilot this thing called a gummi ship! It's way faster than a raft, you know."

Kairi giggled. She missed this, just talking with Sora with not a care in the world-their world. As he kept talking about everything different about him, Kairi just reminisced about the old days. Sora didn't really get what she meant, she thought silently with a giggle. For one, he was still the nicest guy she had ever met.

"—Oh, yeah! I used to look to other people for help, but now I can do things for myself! And I used to be a little shorter, but I've grown a lot!"

Deciding to stop his drawn out explanation, Kairi laughed, "Sora, that's not what I meant!"

"Huh?" The boy propped himself up on one elbow and held out the other hand. With big eyes he replied, "Why didn't you say so before?"

Kairi smiled, "You seemed caught up in the moment."

Sora pursed his lips together, "Oh. Sorry."

Kairi looked down at him with her solid blue eyes that sparkled in the moonlight. For a second, Sora was stunned. She spoke, "What I meant was..." She poked him in the chest, right where his heart was. "This didn't change."

Sora looked down and held his chest. "This?"

He looked up and saw Kairi nod. Then, she stood up and walked toward the dock. Sora watched her make a couple footprints before getting up quickly to follow her. When they reached the dock, two boats waited for them eagerly. Kairi turned to Sora. "Want to go home?"

The boy gave her a little smile, almost tearing up from the much deeper meaning in that question. "Yeah, in a minute."

Kairi shot him a confused look. "Huh?"

After giving her a nod, Sora answered, "I'm just going to walk around the island for a bit. I haven't been here in a long time..."

The girl gave him a light smile. "Okay. Well, it's getting late. I guess I'll head back now. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"K!"

Kairi then began to untie the rope of her boat. When she was done, she threw it into the belly of her dinghy and stepped inside. Sora helped her off the dock to do so. After she settled in, Kairi looked at Sora with a big smile. "I'll see you soon."

Smiling brightly, Sora replied, "You bet, Kairi."

After a giggle, the girl started her short voyage back to the main island. He watched her go the whole way before turning around to do a little exploring.

First, he went to check the treehouse they discovered here a long time ago. He walked a little in one of the rooms before going back down to walk on the beach. The water kissed his shoes many times as he looked everywhere, reminiscing about the time when he was a little kid playing with Kairi in the sand, and the time when he was racing Riku to see who would share a paopu fruit with Kairi. He chuckled at how badly he wanted to win back then.

Suddenly, he caught sight of the little hole in the wall by the little waterfall. Widening his eyes, he started walking towards it. His feet started going faster, and in no time he was bolting it to the rocky abode.

Finally inside, he looked around slowly. Lots of memories were born here in this humble space; he couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. Touching the surface of one of the rocks, he grazed his hand over it lightly. The faded white markings in the rock brought back images of Kairi's and his dragging all sorts of stones over them. They also used sticks for better and smoother lines. Riku barely played with them when they ventured into that place. He was always training out on the other side of the island, talking to himself about getting stronger.

Sora was now grateful that he did.

Smiling to himself, his eyes wandered over to a little carving on the rock next to him. Pausing in a moment's realization, he slid his hand off the stone it was on and walked slowly towards the white carving. Bending down, it took him just one second to figure out what he just saw.

And that's when his heart stopped.

Carved oh-so-beautifully was a paopu fruit by his face, and an arm coming from Kairi. She wanted to share it with him. He had drawn a paopu fruit for Kairi for what seemed like ages ago. When did he carve his?

"Kairi..."

He looked at it with widened eyes, almost stunned. For a few seconds of his life he forgot how to breathe. Suddenly, he felt this heavy feeling in his chest, like something was burning inside of him. He gripped his jacket, sharply taking in some air. Then, his hands stretched out and he looked straight at it, wondering what just happened.

_How… Why do I feel this way…?_

Picking his self up, he looked at both his hands before closing them and looking towards the opening of the cave. Rushing out, he quickly made his way to this boat. After untying the rope and throwing it into the belly of his dinghy and jumping in, he grabbed his oars and rowed as fast as he could toward the main island.

There was something he had to tell Kairi.

Up above, the sky was a continuous shade of deep blue, with dots of light scattered everywhere.

Not a cloud in sight.

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><p>Fin.<p>

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><p>Note: I was seriously debating about whether I should continue this or not (it would be another cutscene of the conversation between Sora and Kairi). I left it at a space where it can go either way, so if you guys want me to continue this just tell me! Thanks for reading! Tell me how it was!<p> 


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